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However, the latest proposal by the federal commission looking at reconfiguring and adding to the federal ridings in Ontario seems to have struck a happy compromise — at least in Waterloo Region. It is certainly a vast improvement over recent past efforts.

The new proposal, which MPs will be considering this week, would create a fifth riding for Waterloo Region, one of 15 new ridings in Ontario and 30 across the country. The new riding would merge south Kitchener with Hespeler in a largely urban and suburban riding.

A previous proposal would have left the region with the same number of ridings (four) that it now has, but would have ignored natural alliances and created strange new bedfellows.

It would have created a riding that joined parts of south Kitchener with North Dumfries and parts of Brant County, stretching from Highway 7/8 almost to Brantford, linking areas that have few natural political or economic links. Another suggestion would have carved off three of Waterloo Region’s four townships and attached them to other ridings, joining Wellesley and Wilmot townships to Perth County and Woolwich Township to Wellington County.

Faced with many complaints from both rural and urban representatives throughout the region, the electoral boundary commission wisely went back to the drawing board. That redoubled effort has proven worthwhile.

While not perfect, this newest proposal is a good one. It addresses many of the concerns raised about past proposals, and actually improves upon the current riding configuration for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it gives the region a greater and more effective voice in Parliament. The region is the fourth largest population centre in Ontario, and the 10th largest in Canada. It is a growing, thriving, diverse area with a varied and cutting-edge economy. As such, its interests merit greater attention from those allocating funding and making policy decisions in the national capital.

Secondly, the new configuration does a better job of adhering to the principle that a riding, and the member of Parliament elected to represent it, should ideally comprise a community of common interests. Kitchener-Conestoga riding, as it now exists, joins an urban area in south Kitchener to a largely rural riding made up of Woolwich, Wellesley and Wilmot townships.

At the same time, both rural and urban leaders in the region say it makes more sense to have the townships be part of ridings with the region’s cities, rather than to have them tacked onto ridings in adjacent counties.

The most recent proposal does that, and also reflects the natural ties that exist between North Dumfries and Cambridge. The one problematic area might be the cutting of Hespeler from the city of Cambridge and attaching it to south Kitchener, and the inclusion of north Brant into the Cambridge riding. But given the alternatives, the newest proposal is an acceptable compromise that meets many of the needs of electors in the region.